The Supreme Court on Tuesday disapproved of discretionary powers vested with State governments in land allotment. Such powers were intended to be used for the poor and not for the affluent and the politically well-connected, said a Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly.
Orders reserved
The judges made this observation while reserving orders on a special leave petition questioning the allotment of land by the erstwhile BJP government in Madhya Pradesh in favour of a Trust named after the former party leader, Kushabhau Thakre.
The petition by the Bhopal-based NGO, Akhil Bhartiya Upbhokta Congress, alleged that about 20 acres was allotted in 2004 by the Uma Bharti government in favour of the Trust, which has L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi as trustees, for Rs. 25 lakh, though the actual value was several crores.
On Monday, senior counsel Ravi Shankar Prasad, appearing for the Madhya Pradesh government, defended the allotment to the Kushabhau Thakre Memorial Trust, saying if all discretionary allotments were to be scrapped, then the court should cancel allotment of all land made for top Congress leaders. “The Trust's objective is also laudable. The Trust has expressed an interest to build a training centre on the land.”
During the resumed hearing on Tuesday, Justice Singhvi lamented the manner in which the executive had exercised the discretionary powers over the years. “Unfortunately, the beneficiaries by and large have been the affluent and not the poor. Those with access to power and the corridors of power have benefited.”
When Mr. Prasad pointed out that poor people had benefited, Justice Singhvi observed: “Not for charity but for political purposes ahead of elections.” Expressing concern over the way the bureaucracy served the political masters, he said, “Our Babus have been trained in the best of the British traditions. They always serve their masters.”
“Decline in institutions”
Mr. Prasad did not agree with Justice Singhvi's observations and said, “There had been an all-round decline in institutions. Even this court is not what it was in the 1950s.”
However, Justice Singhvi said the judiciary's lows were in 1976 and 1986, post-emergency, when it validated several wrong acts of the executive.
Senior counsel Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Trust, said all formalities and due procedure of law were complied with in land allotment.
The Bench directed the State government to produce original files.
